Cilantro Chicken Tortilla Soup

1-1/2 lb. (lg.) tomatoes, quartered
1 md. onion, quartered
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 corn tortillas, coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 cups chicken stock (if you use low-sodium stock, you’ll need to salt the soup)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 cups corn (frozen / thawed or fresh)
1 can (15 oz.) black beans
4 cups boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

Garnish:
Avocado, diced
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Fresh cilantro
Crunched white tortilla chips

Directions:

Puree the tomatoes and onion in a food processor or with a stick blender until the mixture is smooth as possible.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large, heavy saucepan or stock pot over medium heat. Add the chopped tortillas and garlic, and sauté about 2 minutes. Add the tomato-onion puree, chicken stock, tomato paste, cilantro, cumin, chili powder and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, add the chicken to a small amount of oil in a pan over medium heat. Sprinkle with chili powder. Salt if you used low sodium chicken stock. Sauté until cooked through.

Just before serving, add the corn, black beans and cooked chicken and heat through. Remove the bay leaves.

To serve:
Place a preferred amount of crunched chips in the bottom of the soup bowls. Ladle in the soup, and garnish with any or all of the rest of the garnish ingredients. Goes well with any type of cornbread.

User Reviews:

This soup was wonderful. Made enough for a large crowd. But I'm wondering why the quantity amounts look different than what prints out?

submitted by linlou on December 10, 2006

Add your review of this recipe.